Miserable Yet Hopeful
by Blazing T-Rex
Summary: Because not even a two-toned teddy bear forcing you to kill your friends can get "Master of the House" out of your head. Rated for mild language. SPOILERS THROUGH DR1-CH4


Kirigiri continued her patrol throughout the halls of Hope's Peak Academy. Though it was the dead of night, she was not about to miss her chance to investigate the deeper parts of the school. She had done this before, and had no doubts she would do so again. She would do whatever it took to find out what the Mastermind had trapped them for, and how to finally take them down.

As she stalked through the fourth floor, she heard something odd. A strange rhythm was echoing across the halls. She could have sworn the vast majority of rooms in the school were soundproofed. Aparently there was an exception.

She tracked the source of the sounds to the music room. She opened the door cautiously. As far as she knew, none of the others had musical talent of any kind, so perhaps this was the Mastermind calling her out individually.

_"Look down, Look down, Don't look 'em in the eye..._

_Look down, Look down, You're here until you die_

_Look down, Look down, You'll always be a slave..._

_Look down, Look down, You're standing in your grave"_

Kirigiri immediately recognized it as the opening song from _Les Miserables_. Fitting for someone who wanted to drive them to despair. And yet, the one on stage was not the Mastermind. At least, she sincerely doubted it.

The Super High School Level Luckster sat in front of the piano, playing the familiar tune free of care. Kirigiri considered making her presence known, but hesitated. Instead, she opted to continue listening as Naegi sang.

_"I know the meaning of those nineteen years, a slave of the law..._

_Five years, for what you did. The rest because you tried to run._

_Yes, 24601._

_My name is Jean Valjean!"_

The temptation was great to alert Naegi by chiming in and declaring she was Javert. But Kirigiri held firm.

_"Look down, Look down, You'll always be a slave..._

_Look down, Look down, You're standing in your grave"_

Kirigiri finally revealed herself by clapping. "Bravo," she said in earnest.

"Kirigiri-san!" Naegi shouted in response. He realized that she had probably heard quite a bit of that, and quickly felt the blood rush to his face.

"And I thought you were here because you won a lottery," she joked.

Naegi laughed uneasily. "I am. But my mom had me take piano lessons when I was a kid. Guess I never really had a reason to use them until now."

Kirigiri walked to the front row and smirked a bit. She remembered that none too long ago, she had snapped at the unremarkable boy in this same room. While he had forgiven her, she would be the first to say she had been a little unreasonable all things considered.

"Do you know anything else?"

Naegi picked up the score in front of him. "_Les Mis_ is the only sheet music we have."

"I don't mind."

Naegi smiled and began to play again, adding his own spin to the lyrics.

_"Welcome, my dear, sit yourself down, And meet the best pianist in town_

_As for the rest, not much to say, Don't think any among 'em can play_

_Seldom do you see, A guy quite like me..._

_Chosen just for luck, Who can pluck, the, keys..."_

As the catchy tune rang out through the room, Naegi pondered what he would do when he inevitably reached Madame Thenardier's part. His voice was higher pitched than most, sure, but his voice wasn't feminine. At least he hoped not.

And yet, when the time came, the question was answered for him.

_"I used to dream, that I would meet a prince..._

_But God Almighty, 'ave you seen what happened since..."_

Kirigiri stood up from her seat and walked up onto the stage. As she made her way over to the bench, she continued to sing.

_"Master of the House, Isn't worth me spit..._

_Comforter, philosopher and lifelong shit_

_Cunning little brain, Regular Voltaire..._

_Thinks he's quite a lover but there's not much there_

_What a cruel trick of nature, landed me with such a louse_

_God knows how I've lasted living with this bastard in me 'ouse!"_

She sat next to him, and he felt that flushed feeling again. The two continued the duet cheerfully, and concluded in a high-spirited fashion.

_"Everybody bless the landlord!_

_Everybody bless his - "_ Naegi tripped over the next word. _"spouse..._

_Everybody raise a glass!"_

Suddenly cheers erupted.

_"Raise it up the Master's ass!"_ Kirigiri continued, choosing not to question it.

The cheers repeated. This time mixed with a smidgen of laughter.

_"Everybody raise a glass to the Master of the House!"_ The two concluded.

As Naegi plucked out the last few notes he turned to see where the cheers had come from. Apparently Kirigiri wasn't the only audience he had attracted that evening.

"Amazing, Naegi-chi!"

Hagakure led the the others in applause. Well, light applause from Fukawa. And Togami had limited himself to a neutral expression rather than his traditional look of disdain. Asahina liked it, though.

"What are you guys doing here?!" Naegi cried, embarassed yet again.

"Not that it's any of your business," Togami snarked, "but I like to visit the library at night, remember? It's a lot easier to read when you all aren't running around. When I heard the piano, I gathered the others to find out what it was."

"My White Knight finally requested my aid," Fukawa further explained. "I wasn't about to say no."

"You be quiet," Togami spat.

"Ignoring that, you were really good, Naegi!" Asahina said.

"I've heard better," Togami interjected, ever the contrarian.

"Whatever, dude. I liked it. True as truth." At least Hagakure cared. "Do you take requests, Naegi-chi?"

"As a matter of fact, he does," Kirigiri replied.

Naegi wanted to discourage this, but outside of class trials, he had trouble saying no to people.

"Ooh! Ooh! Sing-along party!" Asahina declared. The others wholeheartedly agreed.

Hagakure asked for Who am I. He wasn't much of a singer, but he put his heart into it, and that was all that was expected of him. Fukawa requested On My Own. Naegi probably should've been more surprised that she had memorized the lyrics to that song already. Even Togami requested Stars. He was probably the best singer of the group, attributing to vocal lessons being one of many things he trained himself in. "The heir of the Togami family must be prepared for any challenge," he argued. There was only one holdout.

"Asahina?"

The Swimmer brushed off the question. "No, no. I'm really not much of a singer."

"Neither was Hagakure, that didn't stop him," Kirigiri pointed out.

"Harsh," Hagakure replied, "but true."

"You're the one who decided to make this a sing-along, we're not about to let you weasel out of it," Togami argued.

"Just pick something," Fukawa complained, "we'll just have Naegi sing it."

Naegi reluctantly agreed, silently hoping he didn't have to sing Lovely Ladies or something.

"I guess," Asahina began. It was a moment before she continued. Her demeanor shifted to a sort of melancholy. "Could you play something for Sakura-chan?"

That brought the group back into the icy grip of reality. Much as they wanted to ignore it, they were still trapped. Tomorrow, they would still have to face Monokuma's manipulations. Maybe someday, they could escape, but it probably wasn't going to be anytime soon.

Regardless, Naegi continued to play. Bastion of optimism though he may have been, he knew that this was something that Asahina needed. That they all needed.

_"There's a grief that can't be spoken_

_There's a pain goes on and on..._

_Empty chairs at empty tables_

_Now my friends are dead and gone."_

It was ironic. The death of Oogami had finally united the group. Tomorrow there would be six people at breakfast, as opposed to the five who gathered before she died. The others would begrudgingly admit they were glad Togami and Fukawa were finally willing to join them for meals, but death shouldn't have been the reason why.

_"Oh my friends, my friends forgive me!_

_That I live and you are gone..._

_There's a grief that can't be spoken_

_There's a pain goes on and on."_

Naegi thought back to the others as he played. Sayaka, who had been willing to throw him to the wolves. Enoshima, who he had never really known. Leon, who had been the first murderer. Fujisaki, who could never reveal who they really were. Oowada, who always held up that bold front. Ishimaru, who'd died inside long before his murder. Yamada, ever the disturbing one. Celes, who lied to the end. And now, Sakura, who had killed herself over her betrayal.

And in spite of their faults, perhaps even because of them, he cursed that he would never see them again.

_"Oh my friends, my friends don't ask me_

_What your sacrifice was for_

_Empty chairs at empty tables_

_Where my friends will sing no- no..."_ Naegi choked back tears. He just couldn't sing that last word.

The friendly atmosphere of the music room had evaporated. No one blamed Asahina for this, at least not out loud. But who could bring themselves to break the silence after that?

The answer came in the form of a few quick notes.

_"Do you hear the people sing? Lost in the valley of the night_

_It is the music of a people who are climbing to the light_

_For the wretched of the Earth, there is a flame that never dies_

_Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise."_

Kirigiri had taken it upon her self to cheer the others up. Naegi quickly flipped to the end of the book, recognizing the song as the epilogue.

_"They will live again in freedom in the garden of the Lord,"_ she continued.

Naegi, having found the song, began playing.

_"They will walk behind the ploughshed, We will put away the sword..."_

_"The chain will be broken and all men will have their reward!"_ The two sang together.

The other students perked up a bit and huddled around to see the lyrics.

_"Will you join in our crusade? Who will be strong and stand with me?"_ Hagakure asked.

_"Somewhere beyond the barricade is there a world you long to see?"_ Asahina added.

_"Do you hear the people sing? Say, do you hear the distant drums?"_ Fukawa amended.

_"It is the future that they bring when tomorrow comes!"_ Togami finished, thus killing the alliterative theme.

_"Tomorrow... COMES!"_ They cried together.

They shared in the newfound joy and returned to their sleeping quarters, remembering just how late it was. Naegi smiled. Teamwork between the survivors was not impossible after all. Maybe, just maybe, they would be able to return to that world they missed so much.

As Naegi lay in bed, he thought to Kirigiri's singing voice, and allowed it to soothe him to sleep.

_"To love another person is to see the face of God..."_

What none of them realized, or at least chosen to ignore, is that the Mastermind had observed their little sing-along session.

And that they, too, were a musical buff.

_"So different now than how it seemed..._

_Soon I will kill the dreams they've dreamed..."  
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><p>So yeah, this is a stupid idea that's been bouncing around in my head for about a year now. Hope you like it anyway. Reviews would be appreciated.<p> 


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